A woman claiming to be the oldest person in the world, at 129, has come forward to reveal she's had just one happy day all her life! The elderly woman also recalled the brutal deportation into internal exile in the Soviet Union by the tyrannical Stalin during the height of World War II. According to her Russian passport, Koku Istambulova is 129-years-old, and her pension papers also show her birthday as June 1, 1889. Just when one wonders, she may have seen so many ups and downs in her life, Koku claims her life had been nothing, but "punishment by God."

In a deeply shocking testimony that was also very lucid for the elderly lady, she became emotional while speaking of the horrifying day her native Chechen people were all deported together by Stalin on the steppes of Kazakhstan almost 75-years-ago. She has now claimed that the only happy day in her life was when she entered a home that she built with her own hands, back in her native land, the Daily Mail reported.

After she returned to her home from her harrowing experience that saw her living for 13 years in an unknown land, Koku decided to build a home after many Russians had occupied the vacated Chechen homes.

Koku Istambulova,129, Russian, said: 'Why did Allah give me such a long life & so little happiness? I would've been long dead if Allah wasn't holding me in His arms. Its hard to live when all you remember are those who died. And its very scary to die, no matter how old you are'. pic.twitter.com/PDR4cTrcrY

Even though Koku had to trawl through the dirt to make her home using just mud, water, and dry sticks, she says that going back and eventually building her home, was something "most beautiful in the world." While speaking to the TV crew who was interviewing her for a documentary on the Chechen purge, Kuko said: "You're asking if I had a single happy day in my life. It was the day when I first entered my house. It was very small and I stoked the stove with wood. But it was my home. I built it myself, the best house in the world. I lived there for 60 years."

The elderly woman knows that people around the world are fascinated by her. Medina, Koku's 15-years-old great-granddaughter has been chosen by the family to take care of the incredible woman. Of her great-grandmother, she said: "Granny built it herself when she returned from exile. She mixed soil and water, added dry sticks and grass and made stones out of it, then put them one on another and painted with white paint later."

Even though these were happy days that Koku can remember from her past, the days that preceded the construction of her home were dark days indeed. She spoke of how many people died in the cattle-truck trains that had been used for the exile of her people and that the dead bodies were thrown out of the carriages so that they could be eaten by hungry packs of dogs.

This is Koku Istambulova and she many be the oldest known person ever! Today is her 129th birthday! That means she has lived in three centuries, seen two world wars, and outlived just about everyone she has ever known. IN-25FR pic.twitter.com/ZBJVgZAhBF

According to historical records, Koku was already 27 years old when the last tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, was forced to give up his throne in March 1917. She was 55 at the end of the Second World War that ended in 1945, and already 102 when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 - an event that seems like it occurred a generation ago.

Reportedly, Koku does not consume meat and hates any kind of soup. However, she loves fermented milk. During World War II, Istambulova recalls Nazi tanks passing her family home and feeling really "scared."

Koku lost her only surviving daughter, Tamara, five years ago, according to relatives. She was 104 years old at the time of her death. While her eyesight is failing her, Koku is still articulate, able to feed herself and walk without hassles. "I survived the Russian Civil War [after the Bolshevik revolution], the Second World War, the deportation of our nation in 1944 and through two Chechen wars. And now I am sure that my life was not a happy one."

"I remember tanks with Germans passing our house. It was scary. But I tried not to show this, we were hiding in the house. Life in Kazakhstan was the hardest for us. When in exile - we lived in Siberia too - but in Kazakhstan, we felt how the Kazakhs hated us. Every day I dreamed of going back home. Working in my garden helped me to get rid of my sad thoughts but my soul always wanted home," she recounts.

Apparently, there are 37 people over the age of 110 years in Russia, according to the pension fund, which is a state body. However, none of these claims can be truly verified as there is a lack of early childhood written records or reliable birth proofs.

Like Istambulova, most of them live in the Caucasus which is known worldwide for its history of longevity among its peoples. The oldest documented woman in the world is Chiyo Miyako, who was born on May 2nd, 1901 in Japan. Before Miyako, the oldest living person was Nabi Tajima, also from Japan, who died at a ripe age of 117 years.

That being said, the oldest documented human lifespan of all time is Jeanne Calment from France. She died in 1997 after living a staggering 122 years and 164 days. She is also said to have met world-famous painter, Vincent van Gogh when she was a child.

Copy to Clipboard

SORT BY

RELEVANCEDATE

MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. We are one of the world’s fastest growing
media-tech companies with hubs around the world. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of
reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader.

SUBSCRIBE

MEAWW is an initialism for Media Entertainment Arts WorldWide. We are one of the world’s fastest growing
media-tech companies with hubs around the world. MEAWW brings you the best content from its global team of
reporters on a platform technologically tailored to meet the needs of the modern reader.